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Callahan saves Rangers with SO goal to down Bruins

Feb 13, 2013 - 7:32 AM Boston, MA (Sports Network) - Ryan Callahan scored in the fourth round of the shootout and the New York Rangers overcame a furious Boston comeback to hand the Bruins a 4-3 loss at TD Garden.

Carl Hagelin, Derek Stepan and Anton Stralman all had goals in regulation for the Rangers, who squandered a 3-0 third-period lead before regrouping to extend their win streak to a season-high three straight games.

Henrik Lundqvist came up with 37 saves through overtime in the triumph, then turned aside three of the four Boston skaters he faced in the deciding phase to help New York prevail.

"We showed some character in not giving up and not folding the tent in overtime," Callahan said.

The Bruins had a string of three consecutive victories halted, but still salvaged a point after Nathan Horton and Brad Marchand each scored in the final 1:31 of the third period to force OT.

David Krejci added a goal in the loss, while Milan Lucic and Dennis Seidenberg contributed two assists apiece to Boston's late rally. Tuukka Rask registered 26 saves for the Bruins.

"We kind of dug ourselves a hole of our own doing, but at the same time you have to appreciate that we never gave up," Bruins head coach Claude Julien said.

The Rangers appeared on the verge of coasting to an easy win after Rask mishandled a seemingly harmless shot from Stralman skating up the right side 2:07 into the third period, with the goal staking New York to a commanding 3-0 advantage.

Boston finally solved a previously impenetrable Lundqvist when Krejci knocked home a rebound of Tyler Seguin's long blast with the Bruins on a power play at the 8:44 mark, then came roaring back over the last two minutes of regulation to draw even.

Horton poked in a carom left by Lundqvist on an Andrew Ference attempt with 1:31 to go to bring Boston within 3-2. It was all square a mere 48 seconds later after an alert Marchand flew in from the right corner to grab the puck after Patrice Bergeron had a shot blocked in front of the crease and snapped into the right corner of the net with 42.1 seconds showing.

The Bruins had four shots to the Rangers' two in overtime, though New York had the best scoring chance of the sequence when Ryan McDonaugh missed just wide on a tip-in try with around two minutes left.

After the first three skaters came up empty, the Rangers' Rick Nash broke the stalemate in the shootout by faking out Rask with a quick move to his left in the second round. Marchand kept Boston's hopes alive, however, by rocketing a wrister past Lundqvist's glove before Rask turned back Brad Richards to bring on another wave.

Krejci lost the puck while trying a backhand on the Bruins' turn, and Callahan ended it by beating Rask to the stick side and laying the puck under the crossbar.

New York was outshot by an 11-8 margin in the opening period, but entered the first intermission up 1-0 due to Lundqvist's sharp work between the pipes and a nifty play from Nash.

Just past the midway mark of the frame, the offseason acquisition drew two Boston defenders while skating into the center of the opposing zone before giving the puck to an open Hagelin alone on the left wing. The New York forward promptly whipped a shot past Rask from close range to put his team in front.

Stepan made it a 2-0 game with an unassisted tally 8:17 into the second period, intercepting an errant pass from Bruins rookie Dougie Hamilton and beating Rask stick-side from the left circle on a 2-on-1 rush.

Game Notes

The Bruins were playing their first home game since Jan. 31, with last Saturday's scheduled matchup with Tampa Bay postponed due to the recent blizzard in the Boston area ... Boston has now outscored the opposition by a 15-5 margin in the third period this season ... The Rangers improved to 5-0-0 this season when scoring the first goal ... The Bruins signed veteran forward and Massachusetts native Jay Pandolfo to a one-year, two-way contract on Tuesday and subsequently placed the 38-year-old on waivers, with the move intended to send him to the minors for conditioning purposes ... Rangers defenseman Matt Gilroy, who played collegiately at Boston University, appeared in his 200th career NHL game ... Nineteen of the last 23 clashes between the teams have been decided by one goal, with New York going 12-5-2 in those games.